Blessed With Iridescent Wings

To Lianna, Friday seemed like an impossible feat. It had taken what might as well have been a millennia to reach the end of the week and when her only class finally ended she flourished in the two day break. Double Charms had been hell worthy and she sat through the class nearly begging for the twins to give her a fainting fancy, anything to avoid the copious amounts of homework Flitwick was rhyming off. She had barely managed to finish the assigned readings in time and though part of the reason was because she had a tendency to distract herself with other things, Lianna put all the blamed on Fred Weasley.

He had a tendency of finding her just as she was about to open one of her textbooks and would easily be able to coax Lianna to go for a ‘walk’ that mainly ended with him gripping to her rear and her hands dug furiously in his hair. Distracting themselves with each other was one of their favourite pastimes, something that Lianna would happily take over anything else.

She wasn’t exactly certain what she and Fred were. They weren’t dating but she didn’t want to say they were just friends with benefits because Lianna felt a lot more for him then that. Lianna was happy to take time out of her studies to snog in the corridor but part of her was hoping he’d open his mouth soon, ask her out and make their ‘playtime’ a little more official.

Lianna could do it, she supposed. She could ask him out and see what he said but part of her was way too scared to make a move so bold. She was happy with what they had, if they had anything at all, and she’d be willing to keep just that if that was all Fred wanted, at least, for a little while anyway.

“Merlin, that was exhausting,” Lianna muttered, yawning as she following between both twins. “So happy we’re done.”

“Says the girl who slept through half the class,” grinned George.

“Slept?” sputtered the new girl. “I didn’t sleep though any of that.”

Fred laughed, “Yes, you did, love. You had your pretty little head plastered to the desk for most of Flitwick’s lecture.”

“Pretty sure we saw drool too,” chirped George.

“What?” She rapidly faced her boyfriend of sorts, “Since when? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

Lee cackled, “We did! That’s the only reason you happen to be awake for the end of the class.”

“Oh shit,” Lianna whined. She liked Flitwick, she really did. He was a good professor, a nice guy and at times quite entertaining. It wasn’t her fault she wasn’t too good with charms, or maybe it was. Maybe it was the fact she fell asleep that did her in but no one could blame her, right? If the class didn’t make sense what was the point of staying awake? A loud groan fell from her lips.

“Don’t worry, Anna,” Fred teased as he dropped a heavy arm around her shoulders and pulled her securely to his side. “Flitwick didn’t see a thing, you’re safe.”

She released a content sigh, partly because she was glad her favourite teacher didn’t see her rather big failure and for the fact Fred’s rather warm arm held her tightly. She had grown accustomed to this little display as it was the most public form of affection the two had shown so far despite what happened behind closed doors and closets and sometimes the occasional statue.

“So what are you going to do all by yourself tonight, Anna?” George asked. “You won’t have us to keep you company.”

Lianna snorted.

They had Keeper tryouts at five and Angelina had been quite adamant about her whole team being there to watch. Fred and George, being Gryffindor’s rather amazing beaters, were forced out into the cold to view the new competitors. They had made quite a few mentions that Lianna should go try out and she snapped back that that hadn’t been very nice. They grinned. They’re hope was for some form of entertainment because by the way the girl talked about riding a broom, she wasn’t to co-ordinated.

She had been an alright Quidditch player, not a horrid one but definitely not a good one. She could catch a Quaffle and she could throw it but when it came to speed and the actual drive to practice, Lianna didn’t have it. Kaleb had been the Quidditch player and she would happily leave the job to him.

“Gonna help us out today, love? We’ve got a few hours to spare,” Fred murmured to her as they wandered down the hall. It wasn’t particularly quiet as class had just ended and students were hurrying through the grand hallways to get to their next room. Lianna was lucky she and the twins only managed to gain a single class on Fridays and though it was long and tiresome, they still had plenty of time to slack off. She especially enjoyed being able to sleep in. Fred, with his long arm draped around her neck, weaved the two of them through the frantic crowd while George and Lee squabbled behind them, betting on who’d be at the Keeper Tryouts.

“Oh darling,” She teased, peering up at his warm eyes, “I’m not in the mood to be puking all over your dorm tonight.”

Fred snorted, “What if we paid you?”

“Not all the galleons in the world could get me to stick one of those in my mouth,” replied Lianna. “Why don’t you ask your little brother? He always seems desperate for money.”

“Unfortunately, our dear Hermione would have a fit,” said Fred, his laughter singing in the chatter filled air. Lianna joined in with a snicker. Since Hermione’s rather fiery confrontation, the twins and Lee had been holding secret testing groups about the castle. The tired Prefect had been luckily to busy with her homework and that silly little hobby of knitting deformed looking hats to notice.

The first years, far too naive and trusting, didn’t see the problem with sneaking around. In fact, they seemed excited to and though Lianna knew money was a large incentive, the thought of breaking the rules sent most of the Gryffindor students into delighted grins.

“She’s had a few of those lately,” mused Lianna. Fred’s arm was warm and his fingers, calloused and usually grim covered, were subconsciously caressing her upper arm. The motion only made her fall into him closer and though neither of the two had told anyone but George and Lee, it was slowly becoming more and more clear that they didn’t care if people noticed. “I suppose my edging her on isn’t helping much, is it? I told her yesterday that I think one of your fainting fancies may have left a rash and she went ballistic.”

Fred’s laugh always made Lianna’s heart flutter, “I was wondering why Miss. Granger was sending George and I such dirty looks at dinner.”

“So is Harry going to make it tonight or is Umbridge still keeping him locked behind doors?”
Harry Potter had been on the wrong end of the stick when he was placed with Dolores Umbridge. The poor kid had been bold enough, proud enough and Lianna supposed stupid enough to stand up to the hideous toad. Now, Lianna completely understood the situation and would have too if placed in it but she had a little bit of a brain and the also wonderful twins who seemed to take on all detentions. The twins were the ones that got in trouble and though it had simply been a few points lost or a screech or two, Lianna seemed to be getting off scot free despite her involvement.

“Couldn’t get the ol’ bitch to let him off,” said Fred. There was a grin upon his face as he shook his head, “Angelina’s been flying off the handle.”

“She’s fiery, that one,” agreed Lianna, grinning as they continued their boring trek down the shuffling hallway. As they neared one of the many paths towards the Gryffindor tower the students bustling about seemed to thin and soon there was an empty silence that was filled with George and Lee’s bickering.

“So, love,” Lianna could feel Fred’s warm breath prickle her ear, “What are you going to be doing during practice? Gonna be lonely without me, I think.”

“Do you now?” She teased, her eyes dancing with laughter, “I’m pretty sure I’ll be having the time of my life, hun. No nosy twin tarring my books from my hands.”

Fred chuckled, “Ah but Anna, dear, I’ve never seen you object.”

She giggled. Lianna was pretty certain she’d never object to Fred. He was smooth, he was charming and he was quite nice to look at. In fact, she was quite happy roaming the halls with said twin latched onto her like a parasite. She couldn’t think of anything better to do, well, maybe except slamming said twin into a wall and running her hands through his short, ginger locks.

“I suppose you are right, Fred Weasley,” She laughed. “You are oh so hard to resist!”

“Like I said ‘no girl can resist a Weasley’,” His laughter was contagious and the two cackled into the air, traveling the long distance back to the Gryffindor Tower.

~~~

Later that evening after Lianna had watched the finely dressed Gryffindor Team inhale a quick dinner, she found herself seated in her warm common room. The fire was roaring in the hearth and her thin, slinking cat had curled up right in front of it, now snoozing upon the warm stone. A few girls were seated in front of Mo, warming their hands with the flames and tickling the cat’s tiny ears. Even sleeping he seemed to enjoy the attention.

A couple Gryffindors were seated around the multiple tables used for homework, slaving over textbook after textbook. One boy looked ready to burst as he pulled at his dark hair and whined to the friend across the table. From what Lianna could tell he was only a third year or so and part of her was glad she’d never see him in his fifth. He’d absolutely loose his mind and she began to wonder why she had never been as concerned as him before.

There was a textbook in her hand, her Charms book, but it had only been opened to the sixth page when she decided she was done with reading. The book now laid upon her stomach as she lounged sideways in one of the many comfy armchairs. Above her fluttered Laticia, the eagle winged Faerie with sickly coloured skin and hair brighter then the Weasley’s. Lianna had been reading when the creature soared in and she told herself it would be rude to continue, especially if Laticia wanted to talk.

“I’ve been told you’ve been busy,” said Laticia, her powerful wings flapping a pleasant breeze upon Lianna’s face. “Even Flagwin seems put off.”

“Awe the poor baby,” teased Lianna. “Am I not paying enough attention to him? He sleeps in my room nearly every night.”

The Faerie giggled, “Oceana was telling me you’ve had lots of homework. Is that what you’ve been doing?”

Part of her wanted to lie but with the barely touched textbook in her lap, it’d be a hard one to get across. Homework wasn’t what had been keeping her busy. It was a certain twin that liked to pop up in her most desperate moments of boredom and sweep her away to a secluded area that she’d happily spend her time in.

“Something like that,” Lianna muttered. “This place is so big. I tend to get distracted and wander a lot. There’s so many things to see here.”

Laticia hummed her agreement, “I’ve been down to see Turnox. He really likes those stinky dungeons. They’re so damp; my wings are always drenched when I leave.”

“I’m not a fan of them either,” said the girl and she tossed her forgotten textbook to the floor. The bang caused Hermione Granger to sputter awake in the chair beside her, gasping and muttering unintelligible words while Lianna grinned. The bushy haired brunette slowly dropped back down in her seat, a light snore taking over as her head tilted forward, “George and Fred brought me down there the other day on our break. I don’t know how those Slytherins do it.”

Laticia nodded but her eyes had drifted towards the sleeping muggle-born. The tiny Faerie fluttered over to her, carefully making sure the breeze from her wings wouldn’t awaken the girl.

“Poor Hermione,” said the Air Faerie, “She looks so tired. What has she been doing?”

“Knitting hats,” Lianna grinned, watching as Laticia inspected the tired witch. “She wants to free all the house elves, you see.”

“Free? But the house elves like -”

A single, thin hand waved through the air, brushing off Laticia’s comments, “Don’t bother, hun. We’ve all tried. She’s nothing if not determined.”

Lianna had been told by Ginny a few nights ago about a house-elf named Dobby. Though the name had been mentioned in passing before, Lianna was surprised to hear about the rather desperate measures the creature had gone through to protect Harry Potter. When Lianna asked Laticia about the elf she had found that her Faerie had been down in the kitchen more than once and had easily befriended Dobby.

“He likes to talk,” is what Laticia said. “He’ll talk your ear off if you let him but I think he likes Flagwin more than me. It seems most of the elves do. They’re always in awe at the little dragon whenever he comes looking for a meal.”

“You sure it’s not fear,” teased Lianna but just as Laticia went to open her mouth to reply, a loud cheering and laughter broke through the common room. Hermione stumbled awake again, gasping and fidgeting as the Gryffindor Quidditch Team burst in from the doorway. Fred and George were hooting and hollering and carrying what looked to be mugs and bottles of Butterbeer in their hands. Ron was in the center, his face as red as his hair with eyes wider then a saucer.

“He looks like he’s about to go into shock,” giggled Lianna, leaping from her chair and bounding towards the team. “Made the team than, Ron?”

His reply was a ghostly nod like he was still trying to let news sink in.

“Congrats, darling!”

“T-Thank you, Anna,” Ron stuttered, “I can’t believe I did it!”

Laticia sang her congratulations into the air, a delighted smile upon the ill looking woman’s face and once Ron thanked her, she bid her Mistress goodbye and vanished with a crack. Lianna was too busy with all the commotion. Multiple students came up to Ron, each with large grins upon their cheery faces and slapped him on the back, beaming their best wishes. The twins, who were already dancing about the common room, were passing out glass after glass of frothy Butterbeer. Fred came up to the tall, foreign girl and shoved a heavy mug into her hands.

“You’re kidding me,” she laughed, downing a good quarter of the drink, “Where the heck did you two get all this Butterbeer? Didn’t steal it, I hope.”

George faked an appalled gasped, “It hurts me that you think so lowly of us, Anna.”

“We got it from the kitchens,” butted in Fred. “We’d never steal another man’s Butterbeer. That’s just cruel, love.”

Lianna sang her amusement, giggling as she downed another good half before demanding Fred fill her mug back up again. If Lianna Walden was good at anything, it was definitely having a good time. She could handle her alcohol, strong or not, with ease. It was too bad there wasn’t a job like that out there. Lianna hummed. Maybe she should open a bar, a tavern with all sorts of Muggle and Wizard Alcohol. It’d be a first and would probably be quite the hit. Muggle alcohol was a foreign thing to the most of the wizard folk.

Across the room, George was shoving a filled cup of Butterbeer into the tired Hermione’s hands. They all watched as the sleepy scholar took only two sips before tossing her head back and conking right back out. Behind them came a tired Harry Potter, who had spent a good majority of his night with the unpleasant Umbridge. Ron jumped the boy the moment he entered, to Lianna’s amusement, and gushed how they would be on the same team from now on. Harry probably would’ve looked thrilled and tried real hard to, but eyes sang with exhaustion.

Fred handed their seeker a filled mug and when Harry mentioned the passed out Miss. Granger, they quickly told him to let her sleep. If she was out cold there was nothing stopping them from testing their products. So Lianna spent the night, sprawled out on the couch, watching as the twins entertained their fellow students by juggling empty bottles and make a quick sickle with their shady products.

Laughter and cheers sang about the common room for a good couple hours before slowly, student after student ascended the stairs towards their beds. Katie Bell had gone over to Hermione, carefully shaking the girl awake and leading her towards their dorm rooms. Lianna was left, cheeks rosy red, as she gathered the empty Butterbeer bottles upon the floor.

“You two made quite the mess,” She teased, placing one bottle after the other upon the table in the corner of the room. Fred’s reply was a grin as he helped gather the long forgotten mugs dotting the floor and side tables. He’d return them in the morning if they were still sitting there but with how thorough the Hogwarts’ house-elves were Fred Weasley was certain he wouldn’t need too. Lianna’s cat, the thin and gangly creature, had moved from the warmth of the dying fire and had curled up quite contently upon her Charms’ textbook. Fred slipped his large hands under Mo’s stomach, receiving a disgruntled mew.

“Just chuck him to the couch,” said Lianna as she quickly placed the last of the bottles and mugs together.

“Chuck him,” Fred repeated. “Merlin, you’re lovin’ to your animals, aren’t you?”

A laugh fell from her lips as she watched the tall red hand quickly toss the thin cat towards the loveseat. Mo meowed with a rather displeased tone but like Lianna knew, he landed perfectly upon the cushions. It wasn’t even a moment later that he dropped to his side and curled up quite happily in the corner of the couch.

“See Mo’s fine,” she breathed, wandering over with a tired yawn. “Cats always land on their feet.”

“Mo,” snorted Fred, “You never said why you named him that. It’s a silly name.”

“Silly,” She said, watching as Fred bent down and gathered her textbook into his hands. She took the heavy book silently, clutching it to her chest. “Mo happens to be named after my favourite city in ZanZarah.”

“Really?” Fred grinned and he brought a hand up, slipping his fingers towards a lock of her straight hair. He twirled the dark brown strain, softly letting it slip back through his fingers. Lianna felt her heart begin to race.

“It’s a dwarven city,” She tried to explained, “Monagham.”

Silence filled the common room. The fire placed crackled but all Lianna could hear was her suddenly ragged breathing. One of Fred’s hands came back to gather her hair while the other moved around her waist, pulling her closer and the heavy textbook in Lianna’s hands was dropped with a loud thud.

~~~

Lianna wasn’t one to normally wake early. She was quite fond of her bed and the warmth of the multitude of quilts upon her. If anything, the morning was probably one of the worst times of day for Lianna Walden, especially since school demanded she’d be up at what might as well have been the crack of dawn. So Saturday, the first real chance of sleeping in, had been something she was looking forward too. It was too bad for her that Angelina Johnson seemed to have something else in mind.

The Quidditch captain was up and rushing about, hurrying Alicia from the warm confines of her bed. Lianna rolled over with a rather displeased moan, groaning at the girl to shut up. It was unfortunate her snarl was muffled by the pillow and Angelina heard nothing but some pathetic jibber jabber. Lianna tried to fall back asleep once their dorm room door slammed and the two Quidditch players were out but drifting off into that dreamless slumber seemed impossible now so instead, she awoke Flagwin with a little tap to his snout and slid from the covers. The Faerie, which had been snoozing just above her head, mewed loudly, a puff of smoke flooding from his nostrils.

After she had changed into a rather simple outfit of jeans and a comfy looking sweater, Lianna bounded out of her room. Mo was the only one left inside and he seemed pleased to use the silence for another long cat nap. It’d at least keep him busy, Lianna thought, despite how jealous she actually was. If only she could conk out like her cat could.

Down in the Great Hall she found the quiet Patricia Stimpson sitting by herself. She was eating what Lianna assumed was porridge and reading a passage out of her divination textbook.

“Good morning,” Lianna muttered, sliding in across from the stringy haired girl.

“Mornin’ Lianna,” Patricia smiled, “You’re up rather early.”

Lianna released a loud yawn, an annoying sound that Patricia winced at, “It wasn’t by choice. Angelina’s pretty noisy in the morning.”

“She’s looking forward to practice,” explained the girl. She placed her bowl down in front of her. “Aren’t you going to go watch? I thought I heard you tell the Weasley twins you were last night.”

“I was going to,” agreed Lianna. “But... I figured I should at least attempt my homework. I thought maybe going to the library would help. I wouldn’t be as distracted then.”

Patricia gave her a nod, “It’s a good idea, really, I was headed there just after breakfast. Do you want to go together?”

With a smile, Lianna accepted the invitation. The two girls talked quietly over breakfast until Lianna finished her plate of eggs and muttered they should probably get going. They did have to head back to the Gryffindor tower after all as Lianna hadn’t even brought a single quill with her.

Once they had gathered the lazy girl’s things, Patricia led Lianna to the one place she had somewhat avoided since arriving at Hogwarts. It wasn’t that she didn’t like books but the over abundance kind of overwhelmed her. Her old school library had been nice and simple and held just the right number of books that it didn’t take her endless hours finding what she wanted. Hogwarts was not as kind.

As they wandered into the large area, Lianna’s jaw dropped. Students were scattered about, some peering at shelves while others scribbled away, seated quietly at desks. Books soared through the air, flying towards the high ceiling and disappearing into their designated homes.

“Come on, Lianna,” whispered Patricia. “There’s a table open just over there.”

Lianna followed the quiet girl to a small corner, hidden from the windows and anything else that’d Lianna easily use to distract herself with. Part of her was even certain Fred wouldn’t find her here. He was, after all, her biggest distraction.

“So what do you have to start?” Patricia asked as she pulled some parchment and a quill out of her book bag.

Lianna followed suit, “Herbology. I’m behind in my readings and we have an in-class assignment on Monday. Darla will kill me if I’m not ready for it.”

“Darla’s not a very... fun partner, is she?”

“Not in the least bit.”

Patricia giggled but as both she and Lia peered down at their works, a shrill and snobbish voice sounded out.

“Finally,” hissed Darla Brooks. “I can’t believe it’s taken you this long to catch up, Lianna.”

“Oh, hello Darla,” Lianna muttered in reply. “Studying?”

“What else?” barked the girl. Lianna had to hide a groan. Even Patricia looked horrified as Darla placed herself beside the tall new girl. “Well, get going then, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have the instructions for Monday memorized, I will leave you behind, Walden.”

Lianna didn’t know if Darla Brooks was a God send or not. Part of her was surprised how much she worked with the fiery, curly haired girl snarling down her throat and the other was just completely annoyed. She actually managed to get most of her Herbology notes memorized and even make a dent in her readings but at the same time was fighting the very prominent urge to straggle the girl beside her.

“I’m going for a walk,” said Lianna, standing quickly. “You can watch my things, right?”

Patricia smiled, “Of course -”

“A walk?” Darla snarled. “You’re not even done Herbology! I don’t think you -”

“Honestly, Darla,” Lianna murmured, “Right now I don’t care what you think. I’m going for a walk and I’ll be back in a bit, alright?”

“Fine,” hissed the girl. “But you better not be asking me what to do on Monday. I’m not helping you out.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Lianna left with a little wave to Patricia, humming as she strolled out of the library and down the long hallway. A few students were hanging about, some giggling and chattering but it was rather quiet compared to a school day. Lianna walked about with a large smile on her face and a sort of pride that she had managed to get through part of her studies. It may not have been much compared to Hermione Granger but it was more than Lianna usually did and she felt pleased with herself.

Finding herself on the first floor, Lianna wandered about until she stumbled upon two beaming twins. The Weasley boys looked content as they strolled along, not one noticing Lianna until she began to ferociously wave their way.

“Well, look who it is, Georgie!” Fred teased, “It’s our dear friend, Anna.”

George grinned, “Our dear friend Anna who didn’t show up to our practice today.”

When the fake frown slid over Fred’s lips Lianna released a cackled, “You know, love, we were rather disappointed you didn’t show.”

“Oh, doll, I’m sorry,” She teased back, allowing him to plop a heavy arm around her, “I’ll make it up to you, I promise!”

“Really?” Fred’s eyes twinkled, “And just how will you do that?”

George snorted, “I say Freddie over here fancies a walk, Anna.”

Lianna released a loud laugh. She didn’t need to look to Fred to know that’s what the boy was thinking. His twin would do and when George suddenly bid himself adieu, Lianna peered over at the fiery redhead around her waist. Fred’s eyes were twinkling, dancing with laughter as he smoothly spun her about, leading her in the opposite direction George left.

“How was practice? You seem to be back a little too early.”

“Not pleased to see me then?” Fred joked.

Lianna snorted, “Well you do know I like my space.”

“We had a slight mishap. Katie got a nosebleed and I sort of gave her a Blood Blisterpod. She’s in the hospital wing at the moment.”

“You silly boy!” Lianna cried, trying hard to hide the giggling racking her build, “Is Katie going to be alright?”

“Oh she’s fine,” replied Fred. “Just a little white, that’s all. You survived our faulty Nosebleed nougats -”

“By chance,” she replied, dramatically, “I nearly died -”

“You silly girl,” Fred teased and suddenly the one arm on her shoulder dropped about her waist, joined with the other. He pulled her tall build into his chest, his hands dropping to those plump hips he absolutely adored. “I’d never kill you.”

“Not purposely,” she teased back, slipping her hands around his neck and lacing her fingers into his short tuffs of hair. “C’mere.”

Their lips collided in an instant and Fred began to move forward until Lianna’s back collided with the stone wall behind them. Their hands moved roughly, hers digging into the back of his head and his slipping down and gripping tight to her bottom.

“We can’t stay here long,” Lianna managed to get out when Fred’s lips began to drop and nip at her jaw line. “Someone’s gonna catch us.”

“Let ‘em,” murmured Fred. “I’m not hidin’ anything.”

Those words set Lianna’s stomach fluttering and blood rose to her cheeks. Her heart began to pound feverously and her fingers slipped away from his hair, landing lightly upon his shoulders. Fred looked up, his lips pulling away from her jaw. Concern riddled his eyes.

“What’s wrong, love?”

She quickly kissed him, furiously bringing her hands to his face and knocking them both away from the wall. They were simple words, words that may or may not mean anything at all but to Lianna, they made her heart soar. It was enough knowing that Fred didn’t care who saw them. If he wasn’t hiding anything, then she definitely didn’t plan to either.

Fred’s hands had left her rear and treaded tightly into the long waves of her hair. Their feet moved in sync and soon enough, Fred felt his body hit the stone across the hall. Lianna kissed with purpose, with passion and Fred couldn’t have loved it more. She had this fire and was nowhere near scared to take control.

“You know,” Lianna murmured as she pulled away to breath, “I probably should get to my homework.”

“Homework,” scoffed Fred. “Since when did you do homework?”

Lianna giggled and as he moved to gather her lips again, they heard a light laughter, a snorting and both turned, wide eyed to see Ginny Weasley peering at them.

“What do we have here?” She taunted. “Mum’s going to be pleased to hear about this.”

“Hi Gin,” Lianna giggled. “Been watching long?”

“Enough to see you drive my older brother into a wall,” cackled the girl. Fred’s long arms slipped around Lianna’s waist. “Don’t rough him up to much, Anna. Angelina will kill you if he can’t play at their next practice.”

“I’ll do my best,” snorted the girl and they both watched as Ginny bid them a goodbye, walking off down the hall with quiet snickers. When she was gone and the coast was clear, both Fred and Lianna burst into a fit of laughter, giggling and chuckling as they wandered off down the hall and made an attempt to look for George.